Swimming apparatus



Sept. 18, 1928.

I. D. PERRY SWIMMING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 12, 1927 Patented Sept. 18, 1928.

.IRA. ngjrnnaY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

S IMMING" APPARATUS.

Application filed. August i2. 192?. Serial No. 212,414.

vice is to be used primarily by people who do not know how to swim. It is a well known fact that a person who cannot swim is more or less timid about letting his body down deep enough in the water so that movement of the hands and feet will support him. My device, when fastened to the hands as shown in the drawings and submerged in water, has a very buoyant or lifting power and enables" the swimmer to support himselfor herself sufficiently high in the water so that he or she is not afraid. As the'pe'rson becomes more proficientin the use of my device, the buoy-' ancy can be decreasedifrom time to time so that eventually theperson will be swimm ng without any buoyancy in the dev ce at all.

The device as shown allows the free move-' ment of the hands and arms so that they may. be used in climbing out of or into the water.

' The device is also fastened on in such a way that it is impossible for it to become loosened or removed from the hand or any other parts of the body to which it may be applied.

The device may also be flexible and when applied to the foot or hand allows the free movement of either. In case the device 18 only worn on the hands it will, in emergency, act as a life preserver by merely submerging the hands down alongside the body or by .merely folding thearms on the chest. In case of persons who can swim using this device it will allow them to rest any time they become tired, thereby again acting as a life preserver. In other words, it is not a meansto enable a person to swim fastener-but to swim longer. 7

The illustrations shown by accompanying drawings show a flexibledevice suitable to be inflated by air or gas. This can be done after the device is fastened to the foot or hand. It also can be made of different sizes to accommodate difierent persons, such as children and different sized grownups. It is also light when not in use and collapsed and can be carried conveniently in the pocket, the 7 device also being constructed as shown allows it to be attached to the back of the hand and top of the foot .in such a manner that when swimming the pressure of the water does not have any tendency to tear the device loose.

The device as shown would have an air valve for filling and deflating'to; work ina similar manner. as the valve on an inner tube of an automobile ti'rei In the accompanying drawings is shown my invention as applied to the back of the hand and top of the foot in which I Fig. l represents the device as applied to the back of thehand;

Fig. 2 is across section on line 2,2 of

Fig. 8 is'a cross section on line 38 of Fig. and i Fig. 4: showsthe device as it may heapiplied to the foot. 2 i Referring tothe drawings, the'upper part or bladder 10 forms a'cavity or chamber 12 above the bottom side of the device 14 and, as shown in the drawings, may be moulded on. in one pieceor the sides 10' and the bottom 14 couldbe-fastened together in any other suitable manner such as cementing, or by sewing. The device shown in the drawing is designed to be made. out of rubber, but fabric or any other air tight material could be used.

()n the under side of the bottom 14; is formed the mitt-en or pocket portion 16, as shown very clearly in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. This mitten portioncrfeates a hollowvopening-lil for the fingers of the hand to be inserted into wlienapplying it to the hand, or for the toes to be inserted into when applying to the foot. At the rear end of the cavity or air pocket 12 and on the under side is the fastening member 20 for the wrist or ankle, one end of which is fastened to the part 14, and the other end having fastened to it buckle 22. On the opposite side of the member '14 is a straplike member 24 which can be used in connection with the buckle 22 when fastening the device around the wrist or ankle. In the rear end of the air receptacle 12 is placed a suitable air valve 26 which allows the air to be blown into the cavity 12, thereby inflating same, and closes auton'iatically either by means of a light spring or due to differences in air pressure, the valve having a suitable pin by which itmay be manually opened whenit is desired-to deflate the device.' As previously stated, this valve may be of the general type used on pneumatic vehicle tires except that the spring is preferably weaker so that the device may be inflated easily withfastening means, such as shown by 20, 22

g and 24.

Referring to Fig. 4, the device is shown as applied to the upper side of a foot. In this instance the device can be made of a trifle different shape to fit the arch of the top part of the foot, having a. fastening 24 going around the ankle and buckling tight as shown in Fig. 1. However, I do not wish to confine myself to the use of a buckle as a fastening means, as any suitable fastening means that will be positive and safe can be used, such as glove fastener, button and buttonhole, etc.

Again referring to the device as shown in Fig. 4, it will readily be seen that the person wearing the samecan walk unhampered and that in swimming the device being on top. of the foot when the foot is kicked out to propel the swimmer forward, the pressure comes on the bottom of the foot and. not on the device.

-While'the drawings accompanying these specifications show a device as made out of flexible material and to be inflated by air or any other gaseous substance lighter than water, the same device could be made by using in place of air any lighter than water substance, such as cork or a device havingrigid enough walls to prevent collapsing.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A swimming device comprising an infiatable rubber bladder shaped substantially portion and. strap to conform to the outline of the hand and wrist of the user and adapted to fit upon the back of t-he'hand and wrist or over the ankle and arch ortion of the foot, means for securing said liladder to the wrist or ankle, and

a pocket shaped to receive the fingers or toes and ball portion of the foot of the user and having one wall thereof in common with said bladder.

2. A device toaid in swimming comprising a fiexibleinflatable bladder conformed to fit over the back of the wrist and hand of the user, an open and pocket adapted to receive only the fingers so as to leave the thumb of 2 adjacent part of the foot of the user, and fas tening means attached to the other end of said bladder.

4. A device of the class described coinpris ing a bladder shaped to conform generally to the outline of the back of the hand and wristof the user, a finger receiving pocket portion, and a fastening strap, said pocket with said bladder.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 10th day of August, 1927.

. IRA D. PERRY.

being formed integrally: 

